Separable connection for rock drills and like structures



July 3, 1945. E. J. BOWMAN SEPARABLE CONNECTION FOR ROCK DRI-LLS AND LIKE STRUCTURES Filed Sept. 25, 1943 Patented July 3, 1945 'sEPAR B EooNNEorIoNIQRR K' DRILLSA-ND' LIKE STRUCTURES Edward J. Bowman, Anaconda, -M ont. 7

Ap c t on embe 2 3, eria 1N -;I03;80

ii Claims. (01. 22879-119) This invention is concerned-withQa separable connection which is of particular value for rock drills andlike structures in which the partsmust'be held against separation while pressure or'traction is being exerted, but in which the t parts may be easily separatedvwhen such. effect is desired.

One ofthe features of the presentarrangementis the provision "of a simple, strong and compact assembly of parts. v

Another feature of the invention is the provision of an assembly in which the'lockingelements are retained against accidentaljdisplacement while the separable elements are removed fromone another. 1

A further featuredis the provision. of separable connections for rock drills in which a water channel may be providedin the separable pieces, with this channel extendinglinearly along} the axis of the parts.

With these 'and other'features'in view as ,will appearin the following description and claims, an illustrated form of practicing the'invention is shown in the accompanyin drawing:

;Figure 1 isla side elevation with parts in section and illustrates the securing of a separable drill bit to a drill steel or stem member.

'Figure' '2 is an end view, with parts broke away, ofthe structurein Figure '1. i i p fFigures 3 and 4 are respectively face and side views of the locking element.

"Figure 5' is a view correspondingfto Figure-1 of a modified form of thestructure.

'Figures 6 and 7 are respectively face and side views of the locking element with its attached spring member, v

Figure 8iis a view corresponding to Figure 1 of a-further modified structure.

*Figures 9 and 10 are respectively face and side views of the locking element of Figure 8 with its attached spring member.

7 In the drawing, a stem I0 is shown as removably connected with the socket member I lherein illustratedas formed on a removable drillqbit. A locking element I2 is mounted in a cavity.'20 of the stemlfi so that it can rock relatively outwardly under theaction of a spring mem ;ber 13 and enter a recess extending-from the inside surface of the. socket member II,- and thus interposes itself between one end iwall of the cavity in the stem I0 and the opposite end wall of the recess in-the socket member, so that it operates in compressionwhen tension isexerted along the length of the assembly. An

a tool [5 canbe introducedjf or forcing "thelockaperture l is providedithe. socketwallso that ing element l 2 r to a p sitio-n where it lies inside of the'inner surface of thejSQcket member H, and in this position will permit theseparationof t nar pf h ie mb y.

In'iFigure ,1, the stem 1,0 has acavity f2]! and s a drilled hole intersects this cavity in its i upper en i th g r thu being ad acen th end f he c v y whiehji 'nee ih Qe ITO th s m Jr. A p n 'TZ 'i a ees' th eneha theiz' i l hole and; els ith oi ehe nel 'in' t e leekinemember 12:" preferably jthis .pinxis made jtojf0rn1 a tiehtfitin th lockin vmember .1 Qrli Part of th h l i th st am l lis ttha t inee ee slide. en w iiaft l n er ion; Wher aeitie ee reee in l lo s .in the etemre fin I he -.f ee i.ne emb r.te' ermiti e reeleine e ii membe tf fh s r n '1 F eu il 11 t i e j te ges meun dr nt av t l asortbe i be s at i e d e ine ih iin er u ia p b 1eev t n eers mt rxne ie e *it f' ne h'iaeeme ith 'ileekme m ge zfi jin i i etwee -.th p vot in .2! andthe swinging end .ofvth "member. The spring i ed he efietreesjen ihene s'e t iio reelsine 'th l e ineiimemh "l ab u 'p ip f ;endfi nefie 2, j 9 lme in thesocket. member-H ;atits 'irn er;suriace.

'e l in ie ssem l o t ieper lth i'b l kineelemen 'ihel obete mbyiis l tog h t e: socket me be act to -ere the docking-element inward-1 y" until 1 thefsocket m er atta n e enti l tit i ine es i i llx at i htt n bi ti resented ,ep oe t th locking element 12 "and the j latter is moved by i fi u '1 'Diee eemb i e fecte I-by int oducin 'ithe too J an zi eeine h lee i n eleme it 2 t jaijposit .n -.With .n lith s e I t a jthe tb ist mil e s k gmemb oll may b l fip l' fii fi k. I "fItgiis preferred. thatfthe. bottom or 'endrsurface th lsee e im mber shel -1 e a ins th end surface of the stem lllQWhenthe partsiare assembled and the length of the. locking. element 12 is coondinated to, the position of thesnotch '25, so tha tthis condition exists when :theglockingtelement l2 is'flinfitsllolll wfil'dposition. llnderlthese conditions, i when the stem 10 is elnlploye(1 in a rock ;:cr,111,and is sllb-leql ed tog ndwiseteem est has a notch 25 and the hole M as before.

transmits its effort to the surface 30, and thus serves to actuate the cutting surface in the usual way. When tension is exerted along the stem Hi, to move the assembly backward or out of the hole, the upper wall of the cavity 20 (Figure 1) bears against the upper end of the locking element l2 and acts in compression through this element l2 against the lower wall or notch 25 in the figure, and thus transmits the traction to the socket member I i.

In the form shown in Figure 5, socket member H is formed with a notch 25 and a hole [4 as before. The cavity 20a in the stem 10 receives a locking element [2a which in this modification has the spring 13a fixed to it by a rivet 18. The cavity 20a. has recesses 233:, 20g for receiving the ends of the spring l3a which extend beyond the corresponding ends of the locking element I 2a. In operation this structure operates like that of Figure 1. When the parts have been separated, the engagement of the ends of the spring I30, in the recesses 2093, 20y prevents the locking element and its spring from dropping out of the cavity 20a; By exerting traction on the locking end of the locking element 120, however, the spring [3a may be bowed until the ends can be separated from the recesses, and thus the locking element can be withdrawn from the stem It]. It can be replaced by a reverse operation.

In the form of Figure 8 the socket member II The stem l has the cavity 2% with an extension 202 at its lower end. The locking element 12b has the spring I3b attached by a weld l8a: (Figure so that these parts form a unit. The upper end of the locking element l2b is spherical and fits in a spherical recess at the upper end of the cavity 20b and is guided for rocking by engagement of its sides with side walls of the cavity."

By the engagement of the locking element [21) in this spherical recess and the engagement of the lower end of spring 131) in its recess 20s, the locking element and its spring are normally held against displacement. When traction is exerted on the lower end of the locking element [2b with the part disassembled, this lower end can be fully withdrawn from the cavity 20b with a further bowing of the spring 1317, and then the unit can be withdrawn from the stem [0. It can be replaced by a reverse operation.

In each of these forms it will be noted that the socket member has no movable parts, and hence when the socket member is formed on a drill bit, this drill bit can be a simple one-piece device. Further, the water channel 40 can be provided at the axis of the stem l0 and can communicate directly with a co-axial extension of the channel in the socket member ll whether or not this be formed as a drill bit. Thus, the water channel is a simple axial passageway which has no bends or turns in which damming can occur, and the channel can be easily cleared if necessary.

As shown in Figure 2, the drill stem l0 may be of polygonal sections, if desired, for transmitting rotational movements along the length of the assembly: and in such cases it is preferred to form the cavity 20 and the notch 25 in flat faces of the stem and socket members.

As shown in the drawing, the quick assembly of the structure in proper relation of its parts may be assured by providing a groove in the stem l0, and providing a rib45 on the inner wall of the sleeve II for fitting this groove. With this arrangement, the socket and stem members'may only be assembled in the correct relative position for inter-engagement of the locking element with its corresponding notch in the socket member.

It is obvious that the invention is not limited to the forms of construction shown, but may also be employed in the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A separable drill assembly comprising a stem, a drill bit, a socket portion on the bit for closely receiving the end of the stem, with abutment of the stem against the bottom of the socket in said socket portion, and a locking device for clutching the stem and bit together; said stem having a cavity on its side, said socket portion having a notch located adjacent the cavity when the parts are assembled, said locking device including a block and a spring and being capable of being received wholly within the cavity during assembly and disassembly, the spring being located between the block and the bottom, of the cavity and efiective to cause a movement of the block so that a part of said block is caused to enter the notch, the block being constructed and arranged relative to said notch so that upon a withdrawing pull along said stem the block acts in compression to move said bit, said socket portion having a hole opposite the block through which external pressure can be exerted on the block to force it into the cavity for disassembly of the parts, and means included in said stem and locking device for pre venting separation of the block and spring from the stem while the stem is separated from the socket portion.

2. A drill assembly comprising a stem, a drill bit, a socket portion on the bit for closely receiving the end of the stem, with abutment of the stem against the bottom of the socket in said socket portion, and a locking device for clutching the stem and bit together, said stem having a cavity in its side, said socket portion having a notch extending from its inner surface and located adjacent the cavity when the parts are assembled, said locking device including a, block and a spring and being capable of being received Wholly within the cavity during assembly and disassembly, the spring being located between the block and the bottom of the cavity and effective to cause a movement of the block so that a part of said block is caused to enter the notch, the block being constructed and arranged whereby upon a withdrawing pull along said stem one end bears against an end of said cavity and the other end thereof bears against the wall of said notch and the block is effective to act in compression to move said bit, said socket portion having a hole opposite the block so that external pressure can be exerted on the block to forceit into the cavity for disassembly of the parts, means included in said stem and locking device for preventing separation of the block and spring from the stem while the stem is separated from the socket portion, and a pivot engaging the stem and block to prevent separation thereof after disassembly of the stem from the socket portion and to'limit the relative movement thereof to arocking.

3. A drill assembly comprising a stem, a drill bit, a socket portion on the bit for closely receiving the end of the stem, with abutment of the stem against the bottom of the socket in said socket portion, and a locking device for clutching the stem and bit together; said stem having a cavity in its side, said socket portion having a notch extending from its inner surface and located adjacent the cavity when the parts are assembled, said locking device including a block and a spring and being capable of being received against an end of said cavity and the other end thereof bears against the wall of said notch so that a withdrawing pull along said stem causes compression through said block to move said bit,

said socket portion having a hole opposite the block so that external pressure can be exerted on the block to force it into the cavity for disassembly of the parts, and means included in said stem and locking device for preventing separation of the block and spring from the stemwhile the stem is separated from the socket portion, including said spring being secured to the block and extending beyond its ends, the cavity having recesses longitudinally extending therefrom for receiving parts of the spring whereby to prevent separation of the block and spring from the stem after disassembly of the members.

4. A drill assembly comprising a stem, a drill bit, a socket portion on the bit for closely receiving the end of the stem, with abutment of the stem against the bottom of the socket in said socket portion, and a locking device for clutching the stem and bit together; said stem having a cavity, said socket portion having a notch extending from its inner surface and located adjacent the cavity when the parts are assembled, said locking device including a block and a spring capable of being received wholly within the cavity during assembly and disassembly, the spring being located between the block and the bottom of the cavity and effective to cause a movement'of the block so that a part of said block is caused to enter the notch, said spring being secured to the block, one end of the cavity having a concave shape and one end of the block fitting into the said concave end of the cavity, the cavity having a recess longitudinally extending therefrom at its other end for receiving a part of the spring whereby to prevent separation'of the block and spring from the stem after disassembly of the stem from the socket portion.

5. A drill assembly comprising a stem, a drill bit, a socket portion on the bit for closely receiving the end of the stem, with aJb-utment of the stem against the bottom of the socket in said socket portion, and a locking device for clutching the stem and bit together, said stem having a cavity at its outer peripheral surface, said socket portion having a notch at its inner surface for alignment with the cavity when the parts are assembled, and a rockable locking device including a pivotally positioned element in said cavity and a spring located between the element and the inner wall of the .cavity for rocking the element outwardly into locking position in said notch, said device being wholly within the'cavity and notch and enclosed by the socket portion 'when the parts are in assembled and locked posiperipheral surface, said socket member having a notch at its inner surface for alignment with the cavity when the parts are assembled, and a rockable lock-device including a pivot-ally positioned element in said cavityanda bowed blade spring located between the element and the inner wall of the cavity for rocking a part of the element outwardly into said notch whereby the element is effective in compression toprevent separation of. the stem from the socket member, said device being wholly within the cavity and not-ch and enclosed by the socket member, when the parts are in assembled and locked position, said device including means for preventing said element from accidentally leaving said cavity, said spring being secured to and forming a unit with the element and having at least one end engage,- able in a recess extending from the cavity whereby toprovide part of said preventing means.

7. A separable connection for rock drills and like structures comprising a stem and a socket member for receiving the stem, intereingaginl means on the stem and socket member by which rotation of one member is transmitted to the other, said stem having a cavity at its outer peripheral surface, said socket member having anotch at its inner surface for alignment with thecavity when the parts are assembled, and a rockable locking device including a pivotally positioned element in said cavity and a bowed blade spring locate-d between the element and the inner wall of the cavity for rocking a part of the ele- I ment outwardly into said notch whereby the element is effective in compression to prevent separation of the stem from the socket member, said device being wholly within the cavity and notch and. enclosed by the socket member when the,

8. A separable connection for rock drills and like structures comprising a stem and a. socket member for receiving the' stem, interengaging means on the stem and socket member by which rotation of one member is transmitted to the other, said stem having a cavity at its outer peripheral surface, said socket member having a notch at its inner surface for alignment with the cavit when the pants are assembled, and a rockable locking device including a pivotally positioned element in said cavity and a bowed blade spring located between the element and the inner wall of the cavity for rocking a partof the element outwardly into said notch whereby the element is effective in compression to prevent separation of the stem from the socket member, said device being wholly within the cavity and notch and enclosed by the socket member'when. the parts are in assembled and locked position, said device including means for preventing said'element from accidentally leaving said cavity, said spring being secured to and forming a unit with the element and having one end engageable in a recess extending from said cavity, said element having at its end remote from said engageable end of the spring an end portion projecting beyond the spring and rockably received in a. recess at the corresponding end of the cavity.

EDWARD J. BOWMAN. 

